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Game of the Century (college basketball)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Game of the Century in college basketball was an NCAA historical game between the University of Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins played on January 20, 1968 at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. It was the first NCAA regular season game broadcast nationwide in prime time. It established college basketball as a sports commodity on television and paved the way for the modern "March Madness" television coverage.
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The UCLA Bruins were the dominant NCAA men's basketball program of the era, winning NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships in 1964, 1965, and 1967. Houston Cougars coach Guy V. Lewis wanted to prove his program's worth to his critics, so he decided to schedule UCLA. Houston and UCLA had met in the previous season in the semi finals of the 1967 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. UCLA had prevailed against Houston 73-58, and won that championship.[1]
The game was televised nationally via a syndication package through the TVS Television Network, with Dick Enberg announcing and Bob Pettit providing color commentary. Ted Nance, the sports information directory for the University of Houston, put advertisements in the Cougar football programs touting the game as the "Game of the Century".
The Bruins arrived in Houston with a 47 game, two-and-a-half season winning streak. The Cougars were also undefeated since the last meeting between the two teams.
The first half between the AP #1 Bruins and AP #2 Cougars closed with the Cougars up by three points. The second half saw the tension between the squads highlighted within the matchup of Houston's Elvin Hayes and UCLA's Lew Alcindor. With two minutes to go and the score tied at 69-69, Elvin Hayes took a shot and was fouled by Bruin reserve Jim Nielsen. Hayes, playing with four fouls in the second half scored two free throws. The Bruins still had time to score, but a basket by Lucius Allen would not drop.
In the end, the Cougars pulled the upset, 71-69, ending the Bruins' 47-game winning streak.
Up to that point only NCAA postseason games had been broadcast nationally, so there was much skepticism regarding where the broadcast would take the non-profit organization's policy. The broadcast drew a vast television audience in addition to the 52,629 fans who had filled the Astrodome for its first basketball game.
The teams faced off again later that season in the 1968 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament semi finals, with the now #2 ranked Bruins getting their revenge 101-69 against the #1 ranked Cougars and advancing to defeat the North Carolina Tar Heels 78-55 for the 1968 title. [1]
The 1971 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held at the Astrodome following the success of the game and drew more than 31,000 spectators for both the semi-finals and championship. The 1982 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament was held at the Louisiana Superdome. Eventually, most NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Fours were awarded only to host cities with domed stadiums, and starting with the 1997 tournament, only domed stadiums would be considered for the Final Four.
UCLA and Houston played again in 1969 at Pauley Pavilion for the regular season rematch. UCLA won 100-64.[2] UCLA would go on to win seven more NCAA championships. Guy Lewis would bring his Phi Slama Jama teams to the NCAA final four in 1982-1984.
In 2007, Both Guy Lewis and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor) were inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Previously, only NCAA post-season games were broadcast on national television, but only on evidence that broadcasters were going to make a profit from the broadcasts. The "Game of the Century" between the Houston Cougars and the UCLA Bruins proved that Americans were willing to watch college basketball games during the regular seasons. After January 20th, 1968, the NCAA was able to broadcast college sports matchups at any time of the season, gradually allowing them to have more influence over future broadcast scheduling and introducing more Americans through media to the possibility of higher education opportunities provided by the NCAA.
- ^ a b 2007-2008 UCLA Men's Basketball Media Guide - PDF copy available at www.uclabruins.com. pg. 61 Post Season Scoring Recaps
- ^ 2007-2008 UCLA Men's Basketball Media Guide - PDF copy available at www.uclabruins.com. pg. 122 Year by Year results
- Einhorn, Eddie; Ron Rapaport. How March Became Madness: How the NCAA Tournament Became the Greatest Sporting Event in America. Chicago, Illinois: Triumph Books. ISBN 1-57243-809-6. (The book includes a DVD of the game with commentary by Dick Enberg)